One of the more difficult lessons I am learning in life is that you can't give up! You can't stop trying to move your life forward. It doesn't matter if you’re tired, fed up, angry, bewildered, overwhelmed, you still have to push ahead and try to do what is right. You just can’t say “to hell with it”, throw your arms up and quit. I think Paul had this in mind when he wrote not to lose heart in doing what is right.
The thought of wrestling came into my mind the other day after dealing with a situation that ended after 4:00 a.m. and totally drained the life out of me. I thought about that intriguing passage in Genesis, where Jacob’s walk was marked for the rest of his life after he wrestled with God all night. I wondered, what would have happened had he quit and let go without holding on for his blessing? There is another account where Daniel is praying and waiting for 21 days without food for an answer from God. He waits as someone (or something) is hindering the answer from reaching him that entire time. The answer finally came on that 21st day, but what if he had given up and stopped just one day earlier?
Like these stories, my 4-hour wrestling match also ended well, but the thought terrifies me, ‘What could have happened had I quit?’ And God help me, I almost did several times. It makes me wonder how many times have I given up just short of the blessing, just before the answer or breakthrough?
So to the mom overwhelmed with worry over her children, or the couple struggling to hold on to each other, the dad who’s in way over his head at work or anyone who finds himself praying and waiting for help, Jesus said, “Don’t stop asking, don’t stop knocking, and don’t stop seeking, because everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
When? Maybe on the 21st day or maybe in the morning. The question really isn’t when, the question is, can you afford to quit too soon and miss it?
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